Most of today's commercially available personal watercraft have a hull and a deck disposed directly thereon. The deck has a pedestal onto which a straddle-type seat is disposed. While operating the watercraft, the driver and passengers sit on the seat and place their feet in footrests formed in recessed portions of the deck.
In an effort to minimize the transfer of these forces to the driver and passengers, some watercraft have a suspension element, such as a spring and damper assembly, disposed between the seat and the deck. Although this reduces the transfers of these forces to the body of the driver and passengers, this arrangement still tends to solicit the legs of the driver and passengers since the seat now moves relative to the footrests formed in the deck.
Another way to minimize the transfer of these forces to the driver and passengers consists in suspending the whole deck above the hull. The engine, fuel tank, and propulsion system are still in and/or connected to the hull. A sub-deck is disposed on the hull to protect the components in the hull from water. The hull and sub-deck together form a hull and sub-deck (HSD) assembly. The deck is suspended on the HSD assembly. In this arrangement, the footrest can still be formed with the deck, and as such the legs of the drivers and passengers are less solicited than in watercraft where only the seat is suspended. In this arrangement, the HSD assembly may have recesses designed to accommodate the footrests that are formed with the deck.
When recessed portions are formed in the deck or HSD assembly for the purpose of providing footrests, these recessed portions are prone to filling up with water during operation of the watercraft. If the water is allowed to remain in the recessed portions, it can decrease rider comfort and adversely affect the buoyancy and therefore the handling characteristics of the watercraft. In addition, as water enters the watercraft it increases the weight of the watercraft, thereby reducing the buoyancy of the watercraft, which in turn lowers the watercraft relative to the water level and makes additional water more likely to enter the watercraft, thereby exacerbating the problem.
In typical watercraft having only a deck mounted to the hull, the water is allowed to exit the recessed portions over the rear deck. While this is an adequate arrangement for some watercraft, it has some drawbacks. In order for the water to exit the recessed portions at a sufficient rate, the rear deck is generally made as low as possible. In this arrangement, it is possible for water to enter the recessed portions over the rear deck, for example when the watercraft is operated in reverse or when a wave hits the back of the watercraft, or when the watercraft tilts during turning or when a rider boards the watercraft from one side and a lateral edge of the rear deck dips below the waterline.
Therefore, there is a need for a personal watercraft wherein the amount of water entering the watercraft during operation of the watercraft is reduced.